Post number 8

I've had enough of the garden and decking!

There is still the planter under the trellis to finish. I intend to clad it in slate. Then there will be a need for some expensive garden furniture.

I'm booked onto the Caravan Club site at Bunree twixt Glencoe and Fort William from Tuesday 16th June for seven nights. My plans are fluid, and all will depend on the knee. I think it may be possible to have an Internet connection on the site so I may be able to blog with my laptop.

Remaining Munros to do are:

Ben Oss and Beinn Dubhchraig - from main road near Tyndrum(Dalrigh)

Bein a Chuirn - from main road near Tyndrum (Auch)

Gulvain - from Fort William/Mallaig road

Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhr - from The Corrour Halt on the West Highland Line

Meall na Teanga and Sron a Choire Ghairbh - from north end of Loch Lochy

Sgurr Mor (Loch Quoich) - from end of Loch Arkaig via Glendessary

Post number 7

Decking progressed again at the weekend with inclement weather.

Finishing off the edges with half round logs was the objective. These were nailed into the edge of the decking, but with a further noggin/spacer nailed on at about half height, and sawn to fit up against the joist under the overlap of the decking planks.

The corner was cut to a curve. After much deliberation and erroneous application of "O" Level geometry it was finally done by eye freehand , and cut with the jigsaw. Note the plastered thumb in the pic.

Some length cutting of the noggins was required and we used the circular saw bench seen in the pic. This was a cheap DIY machine bought a few years ago which has had a fair amount of use, but on this occasion it burnt out.

Looking on the Internet for a substitute I decided to go for a hand held circular saw, and after looking at the choices settled on a DeWalt D23650-GB shown on the Screwfix website at £139. I then Googled this item and found it on offer at B and Q for £109 with free delivery next day (Monday) and as I write I am awaiting the delivery. There are still some edging posts to finish off and a back rail to fix.

I am planning to go back to Scotland next week to see if the knee will allow me to do some more Munros, so I hope to make more interesting posts soon.

Post number 6

Well the main part of the decking is now finished. Edges will eventually be finished but materials and design have not yet been decided upon; I am awaiting the return of High Horse at the weekend. We are also considering cladding the planter under the trellis, perhaps with slate.

I attended my hospital appointment yesterday for a knee review. My appointment was for 10:00 am and they were already running forty five minutes late, so I suspect those with appointments for 4:30 may still be waiting?

The doc. told me to leave it to settle down for another four weeks, but gave me little hope of them being able to make any further improvements. Apparently they do not consider it bad enough for a replacement joint. Having digested all this I am now considering a trip to Scotland before the end of June to see if I can nail some more of the remaining nine Munros before the knee protests too much again.

Post Number 4

Decking has progressed over the last few, mercilessly hot days.

One of the joists needed to be located along a bulging, random limestone wall. Hire of a percussion drill (generic name) was called for. I have always known them as Kangos in a similar way that one refers to a vacuum cleaner as a Hoover. The aim was to reduce the bulging sides of the wall to a clean vertical face so the joist could fit closely to the stone capping of the wall (see the first two photos - the second pic shows the new joist and the next one in place.

There have been moments of frustration illustrated by pic number three.

Continuation of the family theme "I think you'll find better if you do it my way" has developed further into the singing of "Anything you can do I can do better".

The last picture shows the basic construction nearly complete when we packed up at about 5:00pm yesterday having run out of decking screws. I am sure this will be a great relief to our neighbours, and as today is Sunday I cannot buy more screws. My assistant High Horse has returned to Preston and will be back to school tomorrow to inflict her superiority on her pupils again.

Post No. 3

The decking project is now in full swing with the help of my assistant High Horse who is also a my first "follower".

Our family motto: "I think you'll find it better if you do it my way" tends to interrupt the smooth flow of work from time to time as has the demise of my power drill. I have two other cordless drills but they are not up to drilling into paving slabs to fix the angle brackets with the strangely named "thunder bolts".

Thunder bolts are a wonderful example of something that works well. Drill a hole of specific size relative to the size of bolt (the hole is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bolt) into concrete with a masonry drill. Insert the thunder bolt which is in fact a screw with a very broadly spaced thread, and also a hexagonal bolt head. Using a ratchet and socket the bolt threads its way into the concrete and makes a very secure fixing.

Post no. 2

Well it hasn't taken long to diverge from the great outdoors theme.

I am awaiting the verdict of the hospital on 1st June with regards to my knee. Inactivity leads me to invent things to do and I have started on a decking project. There is a strange sort of sunken well at the bottom of my garden which has irritated me for the ten years I have lived here. I suppose it is a sort of patio area but have never been quite sure. Anyway I have decided to deck it over. The intention is to put up a trellis along the green fence for mimosa and or honeysuckle, so first I have excavated to make a trough to receive these plants. As one can see in the photo I have now hit solid concrete and I suspect this is something to do with my sewage pipes, so I do not intend to break through. I am satisfied that there will be enough depth of soil.

Further reports to follow when the rain stops.